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Post by Kitten King on Jan 1, 2011 17:39:53 GMT -5
There are some things that are good ideas - like justice, puppies, and the resistance itself. This? ...this was not one of them.
Star was pretty sure of that as she lay curled up on her bed, shaking and feeling for all the world as if she were going to die any second. She'd just been curious, that was all! It was only natural that as time went on, that she would get curious about the boundaries of her powers, right? What she could and couldn't do? She'd only meant to change her temperature a degree or two, she'd just been curious… well. Curiosity had killed the cat, all right - and it might just kill her, too.
She couldn't stop herself from shivering. Her muscles twitched and pulled in the automatic reaction to the chill of her blood, and no matter how she try, she couldn't stop. She thought she'd known what cold was, growing up where she had, but this was an entirely different type of cold. It seeped through her from the inside out, finding it's way into every corner of her body. Even her heart felt cold - and all she could do was shake.
She didn't really want Caleb to find her like this, but, still… she could sure use the extra body heat.
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Post by Jaydee on Jan 1, 2011 17:43:16 GMT -5
Caleb was doing rather well, when you got down to it. Training was easier the second time through; he'd been through the worst of it already. Dreams of the accident came less and less as time went on. His new partner was... well, she was different. Easy to get along with, at least - their relationship was proceeding along as it should, with training bringing them together and living in close quarters making it impossible to find time alone for very long. That was the point, he knew, even if it did drive him crazy whenever he craved a little solitude.
Oh, well. It couldn't be helped.
He approached the door of their shared living space and knocked three times, listening for an answer from within. Nothing. Was she out? But the light was on...
Tentative, he turned the knob and stepped inside, where his eyes landed on a certain quivering pile of girl on the bed.
"Star?" He was across the room and by her side in an instant. Her arms were like ice - he felt all of his old fear flow back into him, sticking in his throat and darkening the edges of his vision. "Star, can you hear me?"
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Post by Kitten King on Jan 1, 2011 17:45:23 GMT -5
It took her a moment to realize he was there, and as she opened her eyes to focus on him, and it took another moment for her to recognize him.
"...Caleb?" Her voice was weaker than normal - quieter. That said something, coming from Star. She was still shaking, freezing, but there was a spot on her arm that felt warm - what was that? ...his hand. He had his hand on her arm. She shifted and leaned closed, into the spot where his hand touched her. "You're warm..." she observed, more to herself than to him. Everything in her head seemed a little garbled, thought she could understand what was going on. Kinda.
She was glad that Caleb was here, now. Everything was so different now, here. Lots of new faces, and she had a hard time learning all of them - but she knew Caleb. Stoic as he was, she wasn't ever about to deny her attachment to him. Caleb was a constant.
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Post by Jaydee on Jan 1, 2011 17:47:10 GMT -5
Without a second thought, he gathered her up in his arms and made a break for the medic's center. Caleb, like most resistance members, was a fast runner - and unlike many resistance members, he was more than willing to trample anyone who got in his way. He powered down two flights of stairs, taking them four at a time, with just one thought running through his mind - not again.
Everyone in the medic's center stood up when he burst in, panting.
"Help, she's-- she's cold," he managed to blurt out.
"Bring her in here." One of the medics, a soft-looking man, gestured for Caleb to follow him into a smaller side room. Caleb obeyed, following him inside and gingerly laying his shivering partner down on the clean white cot.
"I just found her," he said. "I don't know what happened..."
"Looks like temperature shock," the medic replied, one brown hand pressed to Star's forehead. "Mumbled speech, confusion? Did you notice any of that?"
Caleb nodded, only half-sure of his answer.
"There are blankets in the cupboard behind you - grab them, all of them." Again, Caleb obeyed, not knowing what else to do. He was lost here.
The medic began to wrap the blankets around Star, covering her with layer by layer of insulation.
((sooo rushed asldkgh;s))
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Post by Kitten King on Jan 1, 2011 17:51:18 GMT -5
Everything was a bit of a blur to Star, for a little while. She knew that Caleb scooped her up, warm and safe in his arms, and off they rushed… before she knew it, she was in the medic center, and there she had stayed, all the way until now.
Her temperature slowly rose back up, as she lay there beneath all the blankets, constantly checked up on. It still confused her, how she could be so cold - how she was able to make herself so cold. She'd stopped shaking, eventually. Once she was warm enough, she was finally able to fall asleep, and just rest for a time. Time passed around her, and then, she woke up once more. She had one heck of a headache, and when she opened her eyes, things swam around her at first - but the latter quickly passed. She blinked around in the room, trying to gain her bearings. Medic center, right.. okay.
She shifted a little where she lay, then moved her hands underneath herself to try and push herself up into a sitting position, if she could manage it. Gyeh, she was still kinda dizzy - that wasn't normal...
This really had not been such a smart idea, after all.
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Post by Jaydee on Jan 1, 2011 17:51:45 GMT -5
Caleb had been sitting beside her for God knew how long - back bent, hands clasped, eyes closed - like he was fourteen years old and in church again, guilty, guilty, guilty. But this was different...
This wouldn't be another Jordan. The doctor had assured him of that, told him she would be fine soon enough - he heard the words, but it was hard to believe them until he saw for himself that she was warm and alive.
No family, no friends, no home. Star was truly all he had. If he lost her too, he might just give up completely.
Just then, she stirred. His gaze shot up and landed on her, trying to sit - what was she thinking? "Lay back down," he said, reaching over to put a hand on her shoulder. "You're not outta here yet."
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Post by Kitten King on Jan 1, 2011 17:52:07 GMT -5
His voice was recognizable instantly - but then, she'd always been very good with matching voices to faces. Her initial instinct upon hearing it was relief, comforted as always… but that didn't last long, this time. Guilt came riding right up behind, and it was pretty clear that she'd done something stupid. Stupid, and dangerous. She admittedly hadn't thought of it as being dangerous at the time, and that was the stupidest part. Loathe as she was to admit it, even she, ally of justice, had gotten somewhat cocky with herself lately. Her control and focus had increased so much since she'd arrived, what was one more test? She could handle it!
…stupid. What would Caleb do if something happened to her? She didn't even want to think about it. She did as he said. She pressed her palm to her forehead, trying to get her headache to go away, but no such luck. She was quiet for a moment, eyes closed, thinking - and then her eyes opened again, and it was her turn to speak.
"Hey." Not her best opening line, but it was hard enough to squeeze out that much. Not because of her head or her tiredness, but because she wasn't sure what to say to someone like Caleb after endangering your life senselessly, when they'd already lost someone so important to them.
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Post by Jaydee on Jan 1, 2011 17:55:48 GMT -5
He watched her lie back down, satisfied that she'd listened to him. That satisfaction didn't last long, however, as the fact that she was safe started to soak in and the fact that she was a goddamn idiot started to resurface again. What exactly had been going through her mind? Had anything been going through her mind? He closed his eyes and took a deep breath - blowing up at her now would achieve nothing, even if it was warranted.
A moment passed and he looked up again, calm for the moment. "So... fuckin' with your blood temperature. Is that what you were doing?" He couldn't keep the sternness out of his tone, nor did he really want to... but he was calm. That was a lot, coming from him.
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Post by Kitten King on Jan 1, 2011 17:58:02 GMT -5
She knew it was coming, really, because she knew Caleb. She knew he'd be pissed off at her, and that she was bound to get an earful from him before this whole mess was done. She didn't know, however, just how much his stern words could dig at her like they did.
"Seemed like good idea at the time," she mumbled, putting her hand to her head again. "An' I was curious. Didn' know it'd do that… gud, my head hurts." She squeezed her eyes shut again, hoping that this might somehow make the pain go away. Was it getting worse? It felt like it was getting worse… Her head was still fuzzy, and it affected her English a little bit, but she was still managing just fine. She was understandable.
It didn't help her figure out what to say, though.
She wasn't sure how to express that she knew she'd been stupid, that she wanted to apologize. "Won't happen again…" It was quiet and mumbled and her mouth tripped over it, but it was the best she could offer right now. For once, she just didn't know what else she could say to him.
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Post by Jaydee on Jan 1, 2011 17:58:51 GMT -5
It was hard to stay angry, seeing her so disoriented and tired and in pain, but Caleb intended to try. Seemed like a good idea at the time, had it really? It was little mistakes like this that lead to...
Well.
His gaze dropped to the floor as he listened to her half-coherent explanation, her English slipping. It was like she was designed just to make him feel like the bad guy - she hit every single spot of sympathy he had, every single time. He ran his fingers through his dark blonde hair, let his hand rest at the back of his neck. Fine. If she was going to look so goddamn pathetic...
"It better not." Caleb let out a sigh of defeat and leaned closer, elbows resting on her cot. "...How d'you feel?" he asked, softer this time. He couldn't help it - it was impossible to stay mad at Star.
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Post by Kitten King on Jan 1, 2011 17:59:38 GMT -5
She'd already learned in the time that she'd been paired with Caleb that he wasn't always the stone-faced man he appeared to be - he had his squish moments. They were incredibly sparse, but they existed. Right now was almost one of those moments. Almost. She got the feeling that he'd be keeping a closer eye on her from now on...
"Honest?" she asked, opening her eyes again and looking at him, she continued on without an answer. "Som dritt - like shit." She normally upheld her father's policy of no swearing, but even he had agreed that some things just called for it. This.. was undeniably one of those things. "Haven' felt a headache like this b'fore, don't wanna feel it again." Were the lights a little bright in here? The lights felt a little bright. Kinda hard to tell with how things farther away were swimming around though. "Dizzy too."
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